This invention relates to apparatus for the packaging of drugs in single dosage units and more particularly to packaging apparatus which seals the dosage units without the application of heat.
One common type of packaging for single dose units of drugs or pharmaceuticals is to insert the capsules, tablets, and the like individually in pockets designed to accomodate a single dosage formed in a plastic sheet and overlaying the pockets with a flat sheet having perforated closures for the removal of the capsules in accordance with a particular schedule which may be printed on the overlay itself. This type of arrangement is particularly useful in an institutional environment, such as a hospital, nursing home, extended care facility, etc. where careful control must be exercised over the dispensation of medication to the patients and residents many of whom are incapable of keeping track of their own medication.
Where the making of records for keeping track of such dispensations is relied upon it is readily seen that a technician's failure to enter a notation, which could occur for any one of a variety of reasons, could result in the patient receiving a double, or excessive dose.
For this and other reasons institutions are relying more often on a dispenser which gives a direct indication that the medication has been dispensed, that is, the single dose unit is missing from its pocket which was properly marked by the pharmacist for the time it was to be taken.
One of the difficulties, and often a serious drawback to such an arrangement as described above, is that when the overlay is placed over the plastic tray with the pockets containing the units, heat is employed to seal the parts together. While heat sealing is an effective way of accomplish this result, the fact is that many of the drugs or pharmaceuticals being so packaged are sensitive to heat, even for temperatures not very high and for short periods of time. For example, the prescriptive drug Parlodel, which is often prescribed for a common condition, is extremely sensitive to heat in excess of 77 deg. F. and will deteriorate. In a typical heat sealing operation, temperatures of up to 300 deg. F. are frequently employed for periods up to ten to twenty seconds. Under these conditions there are many pharmaceuticals which can be adversely affected with resulting loss in efficacy.